The Song of Life
by pheonickx
Summary: The rumor of a ghost haunting the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is proved true with strange mishaps among its members. Who is he?


**Disclaimer: **I don't own Detective Conan that I don't. Gosho Aoyama-san does!

Oh and this is a little spinoff from a side story of the manga "Beauty Pop" which I don't own either.  
_____________________________________________________________________________

There were some strange rumors circulating the Metropolitan Headquarters these days.

Some regarding a ghost haunting the Division One room, or so Yumi had said.

"D-Did you really see a ghost Yumi-san?"

Takagi Wataru said this with widened eyes, and if one were observant enough they would notice his voice was quivering slightly.

"I think I saw it too!" Seiji-san chimed.

"I hear it was a werewolf!"

Similar statements were murmured in the crowd that was around Yumi.

"So I just walked into the room after everyone was gone for break. All of a sudden I hear the door close behind me!"

Soft gasps escape from the few female officers.

"Then I see a figure appear right in front of me. It turns around and looks me in the eye…. Then he says…."

Yumi paused dramatically.

The officers all held their breath waiting for her word.

"GOT YOU!"

The female officers scream, before realizing what Yumi had said.

Chiba interrupted Yumi's victory laughter.

"So there really is no ghost?"

"Of course not, there are no such things as ghosts!"

The crowd sweatdropped in unison.

"So Takagi-kun, you were really scared right? I heard you scream and all."

Yumi gave him a giddy smile, stifling her laughter with her hand on her mouth.

"A-Ano, Yumi-san that was um…."

"What's going on around here?"

"Nothing much, Miwako. Just the usual gossip rounds."

"Which just happened to include ghost rumors!"Chiba added.

"Ehh? Ghosts? How come I never heard of this?"

"Anyways, Satou-san, there is a rumor that there is a ghost haunting the Division One headquarters!"

The group all bobbed their heads up and down.

"Well, I think there are more important things to worry about than ghosts now…. We still have to a serial murder case to attend to!"

"Hai, Satou-san…."

The officers sat back down to their respective places, murmuring all the while.

After this day however, weird things began to happen.

ooxoo

In the heat of mid-July, Satou walked to the vending machine for bottled water.

_The air conditioning breaks down today of all things…. What next?_

Satou pushed the button after depositing some coins.

The panel flashed two words that would have made one almost dead tired out of irritation in the current situation.

'SOLD OUT'

Somewhere across the hallway, Katsuke was humming softly to himself.

"I'm feeling very lucky today, I got the last bottled water!"

"No fair, Katsuke-kun! That's your second one this shift!"

"Too bad," replied Katsuke, sticking out his tongue at Seiji.

He threw it up in the air to show off to his fellow officer, to prove his point.

Only it never came down.

"WHAT?!"

Meanwhile in the Division One headquarters….

Satou was sitting at her desk, waiting for her shift to end.

_Then I can go home, enjoy a drink or two, and forget that it's a scorching forty-two degrees outside!_

_It would really nice if I had some water right now…._

There was a soft 'thunk' besides her.

A water bottle innocently lay on her desk.

ooxoo

"Satou-kun? Did you already turn in the paperwork for the Hiruma case?"

_That was due today? I didn't even fill out half of it!_

_Wait…_

"Oh, here it is, Megure-keibu…"

After returning to her desk, she vaguely heard the inspector yelling at Takagi.

"I-I'm s-serious, keibu! I had it until twenty seconds ago! You have to believe me! It was-"

The superior eyed Takagi funnily. His eyebrows were rising with each second of Takagi's stammered sentences.

"Well, Satou-kun already turned hers in. I need to send them in together, so Takagi you're going to have to stay in later today."

"Hai, sir…."

ooxoo

Later that week….

"I'm serious Katsuke-san! A ghost stole my paperwork!"

"Oh, no. You too, Takagi? My water bottle disappeared as I was throwing it!"

"Really?"

"No way, is it that werewolf ghost that Yumi told us about?"

And somewhere down the hallway…

_What to do? I lost my wallet and I'm starving._

_Oh well, I guess I can freeload a little off Yumi...._

Satou smiled sheepishly to herself as she headed over to the break room to get her things.

Oh, there was a beautifully wrapped bento box right beside her bag.

She looked around, and murmured a small 'thank you' before happily eating.

Megure-keibu at the time was calling home.

"Midori, what do you mean, you brought me a bento today?! It's not here!"

"Well, keep looking! I know I dropped it off at the beginning of your break!"

When Satou was done and content, she left the bento box by the entrance.

She didn't know who it was, but she at least had to return the box, no?

Takagi just then walked in with a half-frightened expression on his face.

"Ano, S-Satou-san, d-do you think that ghost rumor was true?"

"It could be…."

Satou glanced at the bento box sitting in the corner.

Then she burst into soft laughter.

"T-Takagi-kun… You're afraid of ghosts?"

Satou looked like she was about to say more, but then again, she was laughing really hard.

One couldn't do both at the same time after all.

As endearing as Takagi found her reaction, he still had his pride!

"W-Who said I was?"

"Uh huh. Hey, Takagi-kun look over there!"

"Huh, where, Satou-san?"

"Behind you."

Takagi turned around and came face to face with dog-like ghost creature.

"AAAAHHHHHHH!"

Yumi then proceeded to take off her mask, and joined in Satou's laughter.

"Sorry, Takagi-kun, but it was just a hunch. Really you looked so funny when you screamed…."

Yumi paused for a moment to say this, but burst into laughter again.

Satou had enough sense to stop, once she saw how red Takagi was.

"Don't worry, Takagi-kun. I don't mind having dinner with a person with ghostphobia."

At this Takagi blushed.

ooxoo

Later that evening, Satou and Takagi took a walk around the amusement park.

"Takagi-kun…. Can we go on that?"

Satou pointed to a Ferris wheel where already many people were in line for.

"Satou-san, you don't have to force yourself…."

Takagi remembered how hard she took Matsuda-san's death.

"It's fine! I really want to and Yumi said-"

Satou immediately covered her mouth, a blush tinting her cheeks.

"Yumi-san said something?"

"It's nothing. Let's get in line before even more people come!"

Takagi agreed enthusiastically, smiling all the while as Satou dragged him over.

ooxoo

"Wow, fireworks from here sure are beautiful…."

"It is…. Say, Satou-san? What was it that Yumi-san told you about the Ferris wheel?"

"Oh, that. Mmm…. She told me that, if two people who are going out.... Go on a Ferris wheel together, they would share a-"

Just then, the Ferris wheel lurched slightly, interrupting their little moment.

"Share what?" Takagi was very curious by now.

_What kind of things did Yumi-san tell her? Knowing her it would be something I would rather not know...._

_So it could be share a…_

_Share a…._

_Share a kiss?_

Takagi blushed scarlet again for the umpteenth time that evening.

They settled into comfortable silence, allowing the tranquil scenery make up for the lack of words.

_Someday…, _they both thought.

ooxoo

As they left the Ferris wheel, among other couples, Satou's eyes caught a particular figure standing outside the Ferris wheel.

He was alone, in a black suit, holding a cell phone to his ear, talking to someone on the other end.

A spitting image of him….

"I wonder how he's doing now…."

"Hmm?"

"It's nothing…. I know it would be weird, but say that the ghost isn't as scary as we make it out to be?"

"What do you mean by that Satou-san?"

_G-G-Ghosts.... _Takagi shivered slightly at the thought.

"Let's just say one of our colleagues who passed away is visiting us these days?"

Takagi looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Jinpei-kun? Or Matsuda-san?"

"It could be…. Oh, is this a wishing well?"

They had just walked without really thinking, and now they found themselves in view of a small, but beautiful fountain.

"We should really watch out step here, Satou-san. The platform is kind of narrow and those stairs are pretty high…."

"I'll be careful, don't worry so much-"

Satou's sentence fell short as a group of middle-aged women suddenly came up and accidentally bumped into her.

"Ah sorry, miss."

"I-It's fine."

She took a step back to give them more room.

"SATOU-SAN!"

Satou wobbled slightly on the edge of the staircase and her eyes widened as she suddenly fell through the air.

She closed her eyes for the impact, only instead of a sickening thud she was met with a soft 'thump.'

_Eh? I'm not hurt?_

She looked up into a very familiar pair of blue eyes.

They weren't Takagi's but….

Could it really be?

"Who's that person?"

"He just appeared out of nowhere! He looks so cool though!"

The the women in the middle squealed.

"At least you're safe, miss!"

The rest of them all nodded their heads in an apologetic manner.

Looking down, Takagi swore that he had seen that face before….

"Are you okay?"

"Um… Yes. Thank you…"

_Wait…_

_Where have I heard this voice before?_

"See you later!"

The mystery man gave a smirk before running off.

"Wait a second!"

She only grabbed the black cloth that had been tied to his wrist.

"Ehh? He just disappeared!"

"Waa, is that a ghost?"

_G-G-Ghost?_

Takagi was seriously freaked now.

ooxoo

At work, Satou was still contemplating over the black material from yesterday.

"Takagi-kun, have you seen this anywhere before?"

Satou handed Takagi the material. He carefully turned it over before he let out a small gasp.

"T-This is…."

"Hmm?"

_G-G-Ghost…._

"T-This is the tie I gave Jinpei-kun the day I found him. It has my initials here...."

Indeed, there really was a TW on one side.

Then both of them faced each other with widened eyes.

"EHHH? JINPEI-KUN?!"

Surprised was definitely an understatement.

ooxoo

"So that was all Jinpei-kun's doing…."

She was sitting on a park bench enjoying her lunch break, since the air condition still needed to be fixed.

Satou was talking to no one in particular since Takagi had said he needed to be somewhere today.

"Ah, so you finally noticed?"

She looked up, and Satou almost fell over in surprise.

"Matsuda-kun?"

"The one and only…. Well I go by either name."

Satou's eyes misted over with unshed tears.

_Matsuda-kun...._

"You idiot…. You could have lived if you didn't listen to the message."

"Hey, now I thought we put that behind us? Besides you have Takagi-kun now."

Matsuda said this with a knowing smirk.

"How did you-"

_Oh yeah, he was a dog before this. So he died again and turned into a ghost? This is really confusing...._

_Wait a second then, there was a time when…._

Satou blushed.

"Oh you're thinking of the last time you met me? When you thanked me so sincerely?"

"Idiot! I wouldn't have done that if I had known!"

"Mmm, is that anyways to talk to a spirit?"

"I have every right to do so. Technically I am your senior, after all. But how come you're only showing up now, three years after?"

Satou casually wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Well, let's just say I figured I didn't need to show up or anything."

"Uh huh, really now, Matsuda-kun."

"This life, as a ghost, is the last time my memories will be intact. After, I'll be reborn as a person I guess, and start anew."

"Oh…. The whole spiritual reborn thingy?"

"Bingo. But I came to see you, because I felt the need to talk to you properly, after all these years."

Satou motioned for him to go on.

"You know it only has been a week with you and yet, I was pretty happy. Well, as happy as I could have been at the time."

A sad smile graced Satou's features.

"Thank you."

"That and, I kind of liked you, Satou."

_He used my name for the first time…._

"As much as I appreciate your thoughts of putting it into words, I sort of knew that.... And if you haven't noticed-"

"Yes, I figured. But I'm not going to break you guys up or anything, so just have fun with him!"

"Idiot…"

"Hey, don't start crying now. Besides I only came to disturb you personally to show you something. Follow me."

They walked until they reached a small warehouse.

A good-natured smile were plastered on his face as he opened the door for her.

"Be my guest."

A soft music poured out from its closed doors.

A lone piano stood at the warehouse's center, and the one playing it was no other than….

"Takagi-kun?"

"S-Satou-san? What are you doing here?"

Takagi blushed as he stood up from the piano, walking over to her.

"That's easy, someone led me here."

Takagi gave her a shy smile.

"I see…."

"Takagi-kun, why didn't you tell me that you can play so well?"

"O-Oh, that. I-I've just wanted to keep it a secret until I could play good enough."

"It's already pretty good...."

Her eyes glazed over with memories and warmth for the adorable police detective.

"Takagi-kun, can you play that song again? The song that you were playing just now?"

Satou pointed at the piano to emphasize.

"Ah, sure…. B-But I'm just saying, Satou-san, to not expect a masterpiece or anything."

"Less talking, more playing!"

Satou looked like a child waiting for treats from her happy expression.

"Hai, hai."

Takagi happily danced his fingers across the keys as he bathed in her warm smile.

The music echoed through the small room, and filled her senses.

Memories of Satou's "adventures" so to speak, with Takagi played behind her eyes.

_Hmm… What a warm and light sound…_

"It's titled 'Her Most Beautiful Smile' if you're wondering, that is."

"Oh, it's for me?" Satou asked teasingly.

"Sure, it suits you quite well," said a familiar voice.

Takagi dropped his hands on the keyboard, emitting a rather unpleasant sound.

"AHHHHH! G-G-Ghost!"

Like Takagi had said, a half transparent Matsuda had draped one of his arms over the top of piano.

"You could have kept playing you know."

"S-S-Satou-san. He talked!"

Takagi squeaked some very colorful words before staring at Matsuda again.

"Ah, Takagi-kun, this is Matsuda-kun. Also known as Jinpei-kun."

"There isn't really a need to do this introduction you know."

Satou gave him a glare.

"But anyways, pleased to be your acquaintance."

Matsuda smirked slightly before giving Takagi a semi-formal bow.

"Ah, n-nice t-to meet you too, Matsuda-san."

Now Matsuda leaned over to Satou and whispered in her ear.

"Hey, this guy is really scared of ghosts, ne?"

"Matsuda-kun, you shouldn't provoke him…"

Satou had a sheepish smile on her face.

As for Takagi, he was blushing like crazy. Not to mention that he was keep stammering to get his few words out!

"I-I h-heard that, Matsuda-san. A-And can you please back away a little from Satou-san?"

_My, jealous are we? _

Satou smiled at this thought.

"Fine, and if that's all, I'll be going now."

"Wait a minute!"

Matsuda gave a friendly wave before he seemingly disappeared into thin air.

"See you later!"

With that Matsuda really was gone.

Takagi looked like he had just lived through a heart attack.

Satou looked at the spot where he had disappeared with a memory in her eyes, but her smile still lingered.

Then she turned her attention to Takagi.

"Takagi-kun, are you okay? You seem pale."

Satou waved a hand in front of his face.

"I-It's fine, Satou-san."

_This really is too much for me in a day…._

"So?"

"?"

"Can we finish this piece? 'Her Most Beautiful Smile'?"

Satou added a sweet smile before her brows furrowed trying to read the sheet music.

"Hai!"

The melody filled the room, and leaked out into the park, and out into the streets of Tokyo.

_Thank you, Matsuda-kun.... for everything. _

_Even though you won't remember us in your next life, you won't be forgotten in ours._

_Right, Takagi-kun?_

_----_Omake----

(BONUS)

And back at the department….

"Hey where's Satou-san and Takagi-kun?"

"They still aren't here? But lunch break ended twenty minutes ago!"

Chiba looked at his watch, ignoring all the officers in the room who were currently infuriated with that particular fact.

"TAKAGIIIIIIII!" the officers cursed.

And back at the warehouse….

He finished the last stanza, enjoying that smile on Satou's face.

"AH-CHOO!"

_Someone must be cursing me huh. _

_Huh, I wonder what time it is?_

Takagi glanced at his watch, and his eyes widened.

"Satou-san! We were supposed to be back twenty minutes ago!"

-----Owari-----

A/N: I really enjoyed writing this particular ficcie ^^.

Anyways if you guys are confused about anything Matsuda related then you should read "Perhaps in the Next Life" where it first introduces Matsuda reincarnated.

So how was it good? bad? I would appreciate reviews!

::If you're wondering why this was posted a second time it's because the little "----" didn't show the first time.

Sorry!


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